Contact lenses are generally stored and carried in some type of contact lens carrying case. Typically the cases are designed to hold a suitable soaking and/or cleansing fluid or solution into which the contact lenses are immersed when the contact lens carrying cases are closed. While it is desired to maintain the contact lens immersed in the solution, it also is desirable to substantially eliminate contact by the user with the sterile solution and spillage or overflow of the solution while providing easy access to the contact lens.
These needs have led to numerous prior art contact lens carrying case designs having varying complexity from contact lens carrying cases with merely lid covered solution compartments to structures having various manual or automatic lens retrieval structures. Two types of manual lens retrieval structures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,054,412 ('412) and 3,444,868 ('868). The '412 patent includes a pair of individual receptacles each having a concave shaped piston independently movable by a finger piece to move the contact lens into and out of the solution. The '868 patent includes individual lens compartments formed in the same platform, which platform manually is movable into and out of the solution.
Two types of automatic lens retrieval structures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,070,105 ('105) and 3,460,552 ('552). The '552 patent includes a tubular double-ended contact lens carrying case, with a spring biased concave-shaped piston opening to either end. When the cap of the case is rotated or unscrewed open, the piston is urged by the spring to move the contact lens out of the solution. The '552 patent includes a spring biased platform with two lens compartments formed therein. When the cap of the case is rotated or unscrewed, the whole platform is urged out of the solution and then the individual lens compartment lids manually are raised to retrieve the contact lens.
It would be desirable to provide a contact lens carrying case, which automatically retrieves the contact lens from the solution when a lens compartment lid is opened, formed from a minimum number of non-complex parts.